He wants to distract from his war: Zohran Mamdani hits back at Trump as verbal clash escalates
New York: The political showdown between U.S. President Donald Trump and New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani intensified on Wednesday, with Mamdani hitting back hard in a video that's now going viral across social media platforms.
The 33-year-old Democratic nominee accused President Trump of targeting him in order to divert public attention from his ongoing military conflict. "Yesterday, Donald Trump said that I should be arrested, that I should be deported, that I should be de-naturalised," Mamdani said in the video. “He said those things about me — someone who stands to be the first immigrant mayor of this city in generations, the first Muslim and the first South Asian mayor in New York’s history.”
“It’s less about who I am and more about what I fight for,” he continued. “He wants to distract the nation from the issues I represent — the struggles of working-class people who’ve been priced out of this city.”
Mamdani, a New York State Assembly member and democratic socialist, shot to national prominence after defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary. He has become a key target for Republicans, especially after vowing to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in New York.
President Trump, in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, called Mamdani a “Communist Lunatic” and claimed he would prevent him from “destroying” the city. “I hold all the levers and have all the cards,” Trump wrote. “I’ll save New York City and make it 'Hot' and 'Great' again, just like I did with the Good Ol’ USA!”
In his rebuttal, Mamdani criticized Trump’s proposed “One Big Beautiful Bill,” describing it as legislation that “will steal food from the hungry” and deepen economic inequality. “This bill is yet another massive wealth transfer, just like we saw during his first term,” he said.
The verbal duel comes amid rising tensions in the national political landscape, with Mamdani positioning himself as a progressive voice for marginalized communities. “I fight for working people,” he said. “I fight for the same people Trump once claimed he would help — but instead, he has betrayed them.”
Born in Uganda to renowned Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair and Indo-Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani, Zohran Mamdani made history as the first South Asian and Ugandan-born person to serve in the New York State Assembly. He is only the third Muslim ever elected to the body.
As the 2025 New York mayoral race heats up, the confrontation between Mamdani and Trump is fast becoming a defining flashpoint in the national debate over immigration, economic justice, and the future of American cities.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
